ELDER JEFF DESPAIN

Monday, April 25, 2011

Yes, Junior and Juana got married on Tuesday, and then they and four of their children got baptized on Saturday! How awesome! Then they all got confirmed on Sunday and Junior got the Priesthood! Wow, it was awesome, so awesome to finally get to be a part of the baptism of an entire family! They are so great! And in a year, I will finally get to see someone be sealed for time and all eternity, someone who will become and Eternal Family! What a blessing from the Lord! I am sooooo glad and grateful for the opportunity to be part of someone becoming an Eternal Family, that was what I wanted to see most when I came out here, and The Lord is blessing me with it!

We did have another baptism on Sunday too! What a great Easter weekend! We had the baptism of Lidia. She is a lady that just got up one Sunday and told one of her member friends that she was going to go to Church with him! It was so awesome, we were so blessed this weekend! And the Lord had blessed us even more because we have two more baptismal dates for this Saturday, a lady named Maria De Los Angeles (the one you were asking me about mom). She is a single lady that stopped us on the street, how awesome, I guess we need a wake up call to talk to people sometimes, and the other is a guy named Fran, the Grandfather of Rubi, a baptism I had two transfers ago (with Carlos Manuel and Wellington). They are doing good and looking ready to go!

Kartel and Kenya we are still working with. Kenya is probably the most solid investigator that we have, but Kartel struggles a little bit more, in fact this week Kenya told us that she doesn't want to get married to Kartel, but we talked to them, and we're working with them, and I know that the Lord can help them overcome their struggles, they just have to trust Him.

Miguel and Rubia are doing very well, really the only thing that we're waiting on with them now is the money for them to get married. We are hoping that this week Miguel can pull out what he needs to to get married.

Yes, you probably wouldn't do extremely well overall here mom, haha, because there is trash everywhere. It's piled up many times just like what you saw in Brother Richardson's picture. They don't have trash cans here, it's more just like you throw your trash in a grocery bag and one day a week you set it on the curb and a dump truck comes by and picks it up. And yes, the driving here is crazy. They have little volkswagon like vans and they cram about twenty people into them, not comfortable at all, and sometimes you have to ride facing backwards, and it's not a smooth traffic flow here. I'm pretty sure Mom would get car sick, haha, but the Lord is helping me out and I'm doing great! (Brother Richardson explained to us a little about the driving in Santo Domingo. Apparently when you come to an intersection, whoever has the loudest horn gets to go on through and the other vehicles take their chances after that! He told us that the drivers get big blow horns off boats and things like that so that they will have the loudest horn! Guess it's good that Jeff walks most of the time!)

Ya, that's the same Conde I visit (oldest street in the New World) that you saw on the Channel 8 video, haha, but I don't know if they still have the gift shop you saw Mom, haha. And I have a panorama picture of those three statues you saw on the video also, but the computer is having problems, so I can't attach the picture this week, but I will soon.

Thanks Dad. Wow, I can't wait to go hiking again when I get back. (Henry told Jeff about a hike he took after he finished some business meetings he had in Flagstaff this past week.) Yes, they do have Holy Week here, so the whole week is just a zoo! Everyone buys plastic pools and fills them up and chills, but way too many drunk guys as usual. Sometimes I think the way they run this country is kind of a mess. The whole thing shows a major lack of planning from what I have seen.

Thanks Mom, I really appreciate what you said, and I'm sure you're ahead of me in the Kingdom, because I wouldn't be half of who I am without a Mom who taught me to be who I am, truly I have a mother like those from the Armies of Helaman, that taught them that if they put their trust in the Lord and didn't doubt, they would be delivered. Thanks Mom and Dad for being those parents for me. (As a qualifier here, both Henry and I sooooo know that we don't begin to compare with the parents of the stripling warriors. I'm sure Jeff is responding to the fact that I told him in my letter this week how over and over the Lord has helped me in my life and that I was certain the Lord will always help him as well with whatever he needs - probably way more than me - because Jeff is head and shoulders ahead of me in obedience and service in the kingdom! We sure love that guy and appreciate his example!)

Thank you to everyone, my brothers, sisters, and friends, you all have had such a big effect on me! I love you! Sorry, i would write more, but I'm out of time!

The only items that are allowed to be sent through the pouch mail system are postcards and letters that are single sheet, folded into three-panels, and taped at the top only (no envelopes).
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You can use dearelder.com.....

They will print your letter and deliver it to Elder DeSpain at no charge! Just choose Dominican Republic Santo Domingo East Mission and click on "Write a Letter".
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Packages should be sent to the following Miami Florida Address: